PromoPoint Marketing

Retailers respond as value mania hits even the well-to-do

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:10:28 +0000

The Whited family of Marietta, Ga., never expected that Walmart would become their shopping anchor. Or that value would become their shopping mantra. But they have little choice.
While their total income far exceeds what most American families make, in a post-recession nation still adapting to higher food and gasoline prices and a still-shaky employment picture, their ultra-value-conscious shopping habits square perfectly with millions of other American families who can’t let go of the tough lessons learned from the Great Recession. America’s largest and most familiar retailers — from Walmart to Target to 7-Eleven — have been forced to bend to this new reality.

Study Shows Value and Differentiation As Key Customer Factors

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:06:54 +0000

A new study by Technomic shows that even as consumers are expected to loosen their purse strings in 2011, finding a good value is still of the utmost importance

Consumers Not Willing To Pay More to Weigh Less

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:04:37 +0000

Consumers may be interested in watching their weight, but they want to watch their wallets just as much, if not more.

According to a report released today by The NPD Group, called “Consumers Define Healthy Eating When They Go Eat,” the previous statement is especially true for consumers aged 50 or older. The study revealed that among the 50-plus age group, 70 percent of respondents said they would not be willing to pay more money for healthful items at restaurants they visited often.

Twenty-five percent of the older respondents said they would pay somewhat more money, while 5 percent of respondents said they would be willing to pay a lot more money to purchase healthier foods.

Coupon Industry Facts

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:28:17 +0000

Manufacturers distributed a record number of coupons in 2010 … Over $485 billion dollars worth.
332 billion coupons were distributed across the United States in various forms.
Consumers saved BIG , to the tune of $3.7 billion dollars at face value.
3.3 billion coupons were redeemed in 2010.
The average face value of grocery product coupons was $1.24; an increase of 6.9% versus 2009.
The average face value of HBC coupons was $1.94; an increase of 6.6% versus 2010.

33% of grocery coupons that required multiple purchase
The average length of time before a coupon reaches expiration is 10.1 weeks
Manufacturers reduced coupon expiration periods by 1.5 weeks in 2010
The percentage of grocery coupons that expired in 8 weeks or less was 64.4%

Other interesting facts …

Sunday FSI’s delivered 87% of all manufacturers coupons distributed in 2010
Valassis reaches 70 million HH weekly
Digital online coupons account for less than 1% of all coupons distributed, but its growth is staggering . . . +263% in 2010

Publix Coupon Book Winter 2010

lwinand — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:02:57 +0000

Are Focus Groups Worth It?

admin — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:30:05 +0000

One of our new clients would say yes! In our first meeting with Rick Morrow, Arizona Canning VP Sales & Marketing, he challenged us to assess his newly acquired Luck’s brand and recommend marketing strategies. Not having any prior experience with the brand, I had to admit, we didn’t know enough about his brand or his consumers to make sound recommendations.

Like many brands, Luck’s had never spoken directly to its consumers about their needs, perceptions and buying habits. Until recently, it wasn’t necessary because the brand traditionally spent all of its budget on trade promotion.

A quick round of consumer focus groups seemed like the fastest, most efficient way to determine how the brand is perceived by consumers and to determine whether a proposed ingredient change would meet consumer taste preferences.

What Did We Learn?

Nearly every single consumer in the focus groups rejected the reformulated product with the new ingredient! Without the research, the brand might have made the ingredient change and could have lost many loyal users.

In addition to avoiding a bad decision, we came away with a very clear understanding of how consumers perceive the brand and its competitors. We learned when and why consumers buy our client’s brand and why they also buy competitive brands.

We gathered great insights that will help guide the development of marketing strategies. Our strategies and tactics will address the specific interests and concerns we heard in the groups. It took only a few weeks time and a relatively low investment to develop a clear understanding of the consumer.

Why I Like Focus Groups

Listening to consumers describe what they like or don’t like about a brand can be genuine “ah ha!” moments. I stop thinking about the brand from my personal perspective and start thinking like the consumer who actually buys the brand.

Those consumer insights lead directly to applying marketing fundamentals to best achieve measurable objectives.

Yes, quantitative studies are extremely important tools and new interactive, on-line studies can be very cost effective. However, the spontaneity, flexibility and intimacy of focus groups can be the fastest, most efficient way to truly understand your consumer.

About Us

In addition to being the leader in multi-brand retailer-specific marketing programs, PromoPoint Marketing also provides marketing solutions for CPG brands on a local, regional or national basis. As a business unit of Advantage Sales and Marketing, we understand what works at retail as well as what works in the consumer’s mind.

Click here to learn more about our Client Solutions Experts.

Price Squeeze

admin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:39:49 +0000

Food retailers expect competitive pressures to subdue the potential positive impacts of inflation in 2011, and they also expect the weak employment picture to present ongoing challenges in the year ahead.

“I think probably one of the biggest challenges is getting the workforce back to work,” said Mike Needler, chairman and chief executive officer, Fresh Encounter, a 32-store operator based in Findlay, Ohio. “We have had a fairly large number of layoffs throughout the area, and we feel it is important to get these people back to work so the disposable income level comes back.”

Sample Banner

admin — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:20:19 +0000

Are Moms Reading Your Emails?

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:40:06 +0000

Current statistics show that moms control about $4 billion in annual household spending today, which is obviously why so many marketers are trying so hard to engage them. And it seems that one of the preferred ways to communicate with just about any target segment these days is through email, due mainly to its low cost and high ROI potential.

A recent report from Forrester predicts that emails from marketers to consumers’ primary inboxes will swell to an average 9,000 annually by 2014. But, considering moms’ hectic schedules that keep them running everywhere from the workplace to school activities to soccer practices and dance classes to doctor and dentist appointments, you wonder when these active women have time to check email.

Why CPG Firms Need a Holistic View of Digital Spending

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:37:48 +0000

For consumer packaged goods marketers who have spent years putting the bulk of their budget into TV, outdoor and print, digital media can feel like a mysterious black hole with a murky ROI.

But digital is consuming an increasing portion of the typical marketing budget; PricewaterhouseCoopers released a study in June predicting that digital ad spending in the U.S. will top print spending for the first time this year.

CPG companies on average spend six percent of their marketing budgets on online media, half of what other companies in other industries are spending. Clearly, there is an enormous untapped opportunity for the CPG marketer who gets it right. And that means having a clear, holistic view of your digital marketing spend across your entire organization.

Read the rest of this article – Why CPG Firms Need a Holistic View of Digital Spending.